Headlamp issues, please help ASAP!
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4th Gear
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
From: Pittsburgh, PA
Headlamp issues, please help ASAP!
Hi all,
Long time reader, first time poster. I own an '88 Heritage Softail and recently had removed my headlamp to have the shell and trim ring powder coated. Now I have tried digging up possible solutions as to why I cannot get the headlight to turn back on after reassembling. Can someone offer any help?
I replaced the plug and the flag terminals that go into the back of the light because I had damaged one in the removal process and still no light! I had my powder coater leave a bare circle on the shell for a ground so Im pretty sure its not a bad ground (I even shaved a larger area out to be safe) but I could be wrong.
My bar switches are also turning on my high beams lights on the dash so I did not think that it was a switch issue ( I also powder coated my switch housings).
My next thought would be the circuit breakers but how could those have gone bad if I havent messed with them at all? Im stuck please point me in the right direction! Thanks in advance.
Long time reader, first time poster. I own an '88 Heritage Softail and recently had removed my headlamp to have the shell and trim ring powder coated. Now I have tried digging up possible solutions as to why I cannot get the headlight to turn back on after reassembling. Can someone offer any help?
I replaced the plug and the flag terminals that go into the back of the light because I had damaged one in the removal process and still no light! I had my powder coater leave a bare circle on the shell for a ground so Im pretty sure its not a bad ground (I even shaved a larger area out to be safe) but I could be wrong.
My bar switches are also turning on my high beams lights on the dash so I did not think that it was a switch issue ( I also powder coated my switch housings).
My next thought would be the circuit breakers but how could those have gone bad if I havent messed with them at all? Im stuck please point me in the right direction! Thanks in advance.
May our Moderator Rest in Peace
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 11,386
Likes: 35
From: Rochester, NY
First guess is that you may have accidentally popped one of the fuses or breakers fooling with the wires.
It only takes a second to touch a wire to the frame to pop one and you wouldn't have even noticed it happening.
The other option might be that you got the wires in the plug crossed up.
The plug wires should look like this.
The color coding isn't the same as a Harley, but the wires mean the same thing.
Get a meter and double check you have them going to the right pins.
BTW you don't need to worry about grounding the headlight housing for the headlight.
If you have other lights in it, you might.
But as you can see the plug supplies the ground for the headlight bulb.
It only takes a second to touch a wire to the frame to pop one and you wouldn't have even noticed it happening.
The other option might be that you got the wires in the plug crossed up.
The plug wires should look like this.
The color coding isn't the same as a Harley, but the wires mean the same thing.
Get a meter and double check you have them going to the right pins.
BTW you don't need to worry about grounding the headlight housing for the headlight.
If you have other lights in it, you might.
But as you can see the plug supplies the ground for the headlight bulb.
Road Captain
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 621
Likes: 0
Check for 12v at the feed wire, and check your ground. Simple as that. One of the two things aren't there. Unless of course your lamp is bad, but you can power/ground that with jumper wires to make sure.
I recently retired my test light and voltages meter in favor of a Power Probe. Handiest thing in the world for electrical stuff. I rewired a ton of stuff on my bike and completely rewired my jeep and the power probe made life very easy. Just a thought, no affiliation or anything on my behalf.
http://www.powerprobe.com/powerprobe/PP3.html
I recently retired my test light and voltages meter in favor of a Power Probe. Handiest thing in the world for electrical stuff. I rewired a ton of stuff on my bike and completely rewired my jeep and the power probe made life very easy. Just a thought, no affiliation or anything on my behalf.
http://www.powerprobe.com/powerprobe/PP3.html
Thread Starter
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4th Gear
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
From: Pittsburgh, PA
Thanks all for replying. I did troubleshoot it this weekend and the problem was a bad ground. For some reason before the headlight shell was powder coated, my lamp was grounded to the shell. Once I had it powder coated I no longer was able to use that spot as a ground for some reason (and yes, I did make a bare metal connection after I powder coated) but still did not work. So I ended up grounding the lamp to the shell mounting block behind the headlight. It works fine now. Thanks everybody for replying.
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